Bleak House Ale
The Dandy Brewing Company

 

Tasting notes: Pitch black, indeed. Huge biscuit and baker's cacao flavors, with the deep complexity one expects of certain English malts. Slight toffee on palate, with more caramel malt character on the nose. Fleshly tart black plums. Notably smooth and lacking in rough edges. An earthy hop bitterness, no real juniper character despite this ingredient making a cameo for some reason. Leaves a dry bitter aftertaste that recalls more cacao powder and forest floor debris. Minimal ash. Some nutty character emerges late. I suppose there is a flat spiciness as well. Really, its the malt bill that shines here. Translates as tart and fruity, much like the classic Samuel Smith Taddy Porter is oft-described. This beer seems to be rather polarizing, as does this brewery. I enjoy both. There has to be room in the craft beer space for these old school flavors and textures.

650ml bottle, and yes, an apparently limited release from this nascent Cowtown brewery (which just means that if it's popular, you know what will happen). Another ode to a classic British literary icon, this time ol' Chuck Dickens himself.

This beer pours a very dark cherry cola brown colour, with minor basal highlights, and one finger of weakly foamy, and mostly just bubbly beige head, which leaves a bit of streaky island atoll lace around the glass as it quickly abates.

It smells of roasted caramel malt, wet ash, bittersweet cocoa powder, faint dark fleshy fruit, a touch of earthy yeast, and weedy, leafy noble hops. The taste is bready caramel malt, medium chocolate wafers, subtle mocha notes, softly meaty ash, weak and indistinct black fruit, and earthy, leafy, and mildly grassy hops.

The bubbles are pretty low-key at best, and mostly just absent-seeming, the body a so-so medium weight, and sort of smooth, that odd smoky essence making a nick in the new paint job here. It finishes fairly dry, the grittiness of the malt coming out to play, alongside a plain earthy, old-world hoppiness.

A simple black ale, the roasted malt and fruity adjuncts doing just enough to keep things on an even keel. I'm not getting much in the way of lactic sourness or real American hop activity, so Porter and ABA are out - I'd suggest that this belongs a bit farther down the English ale pecking order - Dark Mild seems to fit the bill.

 

The Dandy's very limited release.

Appearance - Pours a dark cola brown with a finger of frothy tan head.

Smell - roasted malts, earthy hops, hint of juniper berry spice, slight hint of nuttiness

Taste - roasted malts, earthy hops, hint of juniper berry spice, hint of nuttiness and finishes with a slight sourness.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied with light to moderate carbonation. Finishes dry and a tad thin.

Overall - A brew that takes an interesting journey. The malt and hop profile along with the juniper berry spice was done well to the "British" standard. However, I can't get over the slight off-putting sourness this brew displays.